Child of the Prophecy
by AweHunter
Summary: After defeating Madara, everything was peaceful, boring, and very boring. But then Naruto was sent on a mission beyond the elemental nations to protect a French ambassador's daughter. Suddenly, things weren't so boring anymore. Partly because he didn't know what a French, ambassador or veela was. And mostly because prophecies from different worlds never clashed well together.
1. France and Veelas

**A/N: Yo! I'm back with a new story again. I have no idea what Monsieur Delacour's first name is, so I just went by the name I saw on some fan fiction, Sebastian. Spoilers up to chapter I-Have-No-Idea-When-Tobi-Was-Thought-To-Be-Madara. Without further ado, hope you enjoy! Thanks to bloodyreds for being a great Beta! **

**Summary: After defeating Madara, everything was peaceful, boring, and very boring. But then Naruto was sent on a mission beyond the elemental nations to protect a French ambassador's daughter. Suddenly, things weren't so boring anymore. Partly because he didn't know what a French, ambassador or veela was. And mostly because prophecies from different worlds never clashed well together.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, cannot, and will not own Harry Potter or Naruto. Harry Potter was written by J.K. Rowling and Naruto was created by Masashi Kishimoto. I am only writing this for fun, not profit.**

* * *

"Alright, in celebration of the three month anniversary of defeating Uchiha Madara, everything you eat is on the house today." Teuchi ruffled the hair of his number one customer and immediately started cooking. He knew he would have to work fast if he wanted to keep up with the blonde's eating.

"You and your ramen are the best, old man!" Naruto exclaimed as a bowl of steaming noodles appeared on the table before him. "Itadakimasu!" He started wolfing down the food at a speed that horrified the nearby customers who were watching him.

"You know, it's a wonder you managed to grow so tall when you only ate ramen for seventeen years." A familiar voice reached Naruto's ears. He perked up.

An excited yelp of "Sakura-chan!" was the only warning the pink head got before she was tackled by a yellow blur.

"You're back!"

"Yeah... Naruto, can you get off me? You're really heavy."

"Oops, sorry," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he helped her up. Sakura smiled—at least there were some things that never change.

"Would you like anything?" Ayame asked as she guided Sakura to a seat next to Naruto's.

"One miso ramen please."

"Only _one_?" The blonde stared at her incredulously.

"Not everyone's like you, Naruto."

"But seriously, only _one_?" Then a look of understanding came across his face. "Ooh, I get it. You're on a diet!"

Sakura scowled, "Are you implying that I need to go on a diet?" She clenched her fists.

Realizing where this was going, Naruto quickly backtracked. "No, no. I meant that _if _you were on a diet, I would understand." Her expression darkened even further.

"No, wait. That came out wrong. I meant I would understand why you're only eating one bowl of ramen if it's because you want to be skinny. Er, skinnier." Sakura was cracking her knuckles.

"Would you give me a two minute head start?"

She smiled sweetly.

"No."

* * *

Naruto's head now sported a good sized bump as he slurped his ramen, sulking.

"You didn't have to hit so hard, Sakura-chan."

"Oh, sorry, did my hand slip a bit?"

"Yeah, 'a bit'." Naruto snorted and piled another addition to his collection of ten, now eleven, empty bowls.

"Would you like me to treat your injury?"

Recognizing the sadistic gleam in her eye, Naruto chuckled nervously. "Haha, did I mention that it doesn't really hurt—I mean it doesn't hurt at all anymore. I appreciate it, but no thanks."

Sakura laughed. Although it was fun getting him worked up, she let it go. This time. After all, it wouldn't do to have the village hero miss the three month anniversary festival because he ended up in the hospital.

"When did you get so big? I had a hard time hitting your head." Naruto winced at the reminder of his injury before remembering that he was no longer a short, scrawny kid. After a mouthful of noodles, he grinned, "Growth spurt, I guess."

"How tall are you? Six feet?"

Naruto puffed up his chest, "Six feet and 1½ inches. Now you can't call me a shrimp."

Sakura smiled, "Sure, shrimp."

Naruto growled before returning to his ramen grumpily, muttering something about sadistic women and how it wasn't fair.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He said quickly.

"Coward." The other customers laughed.

"Itadakimasu." Sakura picked up her chopsticks and started eating. She stopped when she realized Naruto was unusually quiet. She sighed. Naruto was having one of _those_ moments as he stared into space, reliving memories of the war. He was so close, yet so distant. Sometimes Sakura wondered just how much Naruto had changed. But then he would say something like "Ramen forever!" and she would be reminded of how much he _hadn't _changed.

Sakura sighed again. She really wished he would move on. She hadn't seen his true, genuine smile for too long. But she knew that was almost impossible, especially after what happened with Ino. Naruto hid his pain well. No matter how hard he tried though, she knew he was living behind a mask. She knew he, like her, hadn't gotten over the deaths and sorrows. The people close to Naruto could see this as well. Tsunade had expressed her worries and asked her if she thought Naruto needed a break. Sakura had said yes. Speaking of which…

"Aren't you supposed to be reporting for a mission right now?"

Naruto shot out of his seat. "Oh shit! I totally forgot!"

Sakura buried her face in her hands. "Why am I even surprised?"

"Damn it. Sorry Sakura-chan, Ayame-chan, Teuchi-jisan! I gotta go. Ba-chan's gonna kill me!" With that, he tightened his forehead protector, which covered his left eye, and shunshined out of Ichiraku Ramen, oblivious to the relieved smile on Teuchi's face.

_He's hopeless. _She sighed. Again. _I really need to stop doing that. _She dropped a few thousand ryō on the counter.

"Keep the change," Sakura waved, and left the restaurant in a swirl of leaves with thoughts of Naruto on her mind.

_At least he got rid of that horrible orange jump suit._

* * *

"Ba-chan, you wanted to see me?" Naruto strutted in with an infuriating grin that fooled no one.

"I wanted to see you two hours ago." The short-tempered Hokage said quietly. Too quietly.

"Heh heh," he laughed weakly, "A black cat crossed my path."

"Right."

"Would you believe me if I told you I was lost on the road of life?"

"No."

"Would it help if I was lost on the road of ramen instead?"

"What do you think?"

"…Yes?" Naruto glanced at her hopefully.

"Wrong answer." Flick!

It took thirty minutes and a bucket of ice for Naruto to be conscious again. And when he did, he was not happy. Neither was Tsunade.

"You know you're still in trouble, right?"

"Damn it, Ba-chan." Seeing the throbbing vein in the Hokage's temple, Naruto cleared his throat, "Yes, my apologies, Hokage-sama."

She nodded, satisfied. For now.

"Down to business," she announced. Although Naruto still looked like the stereotypical stupid blonde (did Tsunade just insult herself?), the newfound sharpness in his eyes told her that he was paying close attention.

"Naruto, I know that the war has changed you." She saw him stiffen. "Believe me; I know the horrors of war. I think you need to take a break from all this dying and killing."

"You're sending me away, aren't you?" For a second, his smile slipped, showing the insecurities that were usually hidden well.

"Yes. I believe a change of surroundings will help you. Of course, it isn't permanent. Just for a year."

"A WHOLE YEAR?!" Naruto gaped at her, "But that's so long! I can't just leave the village right after the war—I promised to finish rebuilding Konohamaru's house! Plus, Ichiraku Ramen doesn't have branch stores!"

"Konohamaru's dead, Naruto."

His grin dropped and he looked at her seriously, "I know; he died a hero. That's why I'm building the house. It's in honor of him and all the other brave genins who gave their lives to the war."

The Hokage sighed. She knew how hard Naruto was taking Konohamaru's death. It was one of the reasons she wanted him leave the village for a while. "I'm sure Udon and Moegi can take care of that." His mouth was already open, ready to protest. She continued, looking at him pointedly and reminding him of who was in charge here, "Due to the unknown factors, this is an S-ranked mission."

"Unknown factors?" His eyes became wary.

Tsunade nodded, "You will be traveling beyond the Elemental Nations." Naruto was too distracted to bother picking up his jaw from the ground when he realized it had dropped.

"There's a place beyond the Elemental Nations?"

"Yes, I was surprised as well. According to the client, the Elemental Nations is actually very small, hidden somewhere near a country called Japan."

"The Elemental Nations is very small!"

"Yes. In fact," Tsunade pulled out a map that was hidden under the mountains of paper work. "The client, Sebastian Delacour, told me that this is the map of the world, and this," she pointed at a marked dot near a tiny island on the right side of the map, "is the Elemental Nations. The rest is other countries."

"…The rest is other countries."

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true."

"How do you know? Are you sure the man isn't just crazy?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Delacour-san discovered the existence of the Elemental Nations when he met Jiraiya, who was still on his journey at that time." Naruto sobered at the mention of his mentor.

"Delacour-san was Jiraiya's friend," Tsunade added. She felt bad for using her deceased teammate to guilt trip Naruto, but there was no other way for Naruto to willingly leave Konoha. He kept on thinking that his village would be attacked any second. Even though this seemed paranoid of him, she couldn't blame him, considering Sasuke's departing words.

"Alright, I'll accept this mission. What am I supposed to do?" Naruto declared after a moment of hesitation.

"Sebastian Delacour has a daughter, Fleur Delacour, who is turning seventeen this August. You will be her bodyguard for a year. This is the information we have on her." The Hokage handed him a piece of rolled up parchment.

"Why is the paper so ugly?" Naruto frowned as he unfurled the rough material.

"It's called parchment. It's what their people use to write on."

"Weird." Naruto scanned the file.

_Name: Fleur Isabelle Delacour_

_Gender: Female_

_Date of Birth: August 31, 1977_

_Blood Type: N/A_

_Hair Color: Silvery blonde_

_Eye Color: Dark blue_

_Skin Color: Light_

_Species: Quarter- Vee—_

"AAHHHH!" A girly shriek was heard throughout the building. Tsunade winced. She hadn't expected him to be that loud.

"Naruto, what is wrong with yo—"

"IT'S MOVING! THE PICTURE, I-IT'S LAUGHING AT ME! KYAAH!" He screamed, throwing the parchment on the floor. He was just about to perform a fire jutsu that would burn the file, along with the entire Hokage Tower, when Tsunade told him to shut up and stop being a sissy.

"But it was moving," Naruto exclaimed, wide-eyed. "It was moving!"

"Oh my, I must've forgotten to warn you beforehand," she smiled not very apologetically, "Anyway, the place that you are going to is magical. The people there are called wizards, which are the men, and witches, which are magical women. There are also non magical people called mugs. Wait no, muggles. They use these small wooden sticks called wands to cast spells. Spells are similar to jutsus. There are types that heal, damage, defend, change objects into living things, and conjur—"

"MAGIC?! MAGIC IS REAL?! THEY HAVE WANDS? CAN THEY MAKE HOT RAMEN WITHOUT THE THREE MINUTE HEAT UP?!" Naruto was almost bouncing up and down. There was a childish excitement in his eyes that had been missing for a long time. "THAT IS SO COOL! THEY'VE GOTTA TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT!"

"Can you not speak at a normal volume?" Tsunade winced. She wanted to send him flying to France right now. She knew the mission would be good for Naruto, but this really wasn't helping her hangover.

"Sorry," he smiled, embarrassed. "But seriously, that is so cool! Can I get one of those stick thingies?"

"No, you can't have a wand. You're supposed to be a _mature _bodyguard, remember?" The Hokage felt like snorting. "Now, pick up the document _nicely_. And continue reading it. I will answer any other questions you have." Tsunade paused when she saw the hopeful expression on his face, then she added, "No, you can't bring a bag full of instant ramen on the mission." Naruto pouted, picked up the scary file grumpily, and returned to reading it.

_Species: Quarter-Veela_

"Wait, she's—"

"Very pretty, right?" Tsunade finished for him, with an expression that reminded Naruto of Jiraiya.

"Uh, no. Wait, yes. I mean I don't know." He frowned and studied the picture, "I guess she's pretty pretty. But that's not what I was gonna ask." Tsunade sighed. Trust Naruto to not recognize a one in a million beauty. Sometimes, she really wondered if he was gay.

"Hey, Ba-chan. What's a quarter-veela?" The Hokage was interrupted from her thoughts.

"Veelas are a race of semi-human, semi-magical beings. They are very beautiful and they have an allure which reduces most men to blubbering fools." Seeing the look on Naruto's face, Tsunade quickly assured him, "Don't worry, you probably won't be affected by it.

"You should also know that when Veela are angered, they transform to birds that can shoot fireballs," Ignoring the "that's so awesome!" comment from Naruto, she continued, "So you probably wouldn't want to upset Fleur Delacour's grandmother, Isabelle, who is a Veela. Isabelle married a wizard and gave birth to Apolline Delacour, who married Sebastian Delacour, a wizard, which is why Fleur is a quarter-veela."

"What do I protect her from? Are there assholes in the magical world as well?"

"Due to Fleur's veela heritage, some people don't view her as a human. Instead, they think of her as a creature that is below humans. Of course, there are also men who will try to approach her with ill intentions due to her allure.

"However, the main reason that she needs protection is a competition called the Triwizard Tournament that is taking place during this school year. Fleur goes to a magical school called Beauxbatons. Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, another wizarding school, Hogwarts, the magical school in Britain, are all part of this event which consists of all the other schools to go to Hogwarts so that a chosen representative of each school can compete in the tournament. Fleur is determined to become the champion of Beauxbatons. The Triwizard Tournament is known for the number of people who have died because of how dangerous it is, which is why Delacour-san felt the need to hire a ninja so that his daughter would be safe even if she becomes a champion."

Naruto looked dazed. All this new information was too much for him to absorb.

"Wait, so if this tournament is so dangerous, why do they even hold it?" He asked.

"Think of it as the Chunin Exam, a chance to prove yourself. Delacour-san suspects that Fleur is so keen on competing because she wants to prove that she is as much of a witch as everyone else is."

Naruto grinned a little. This Fleur character didn't sound so bad. He could actually relate to her. Judged for something she couldn't control and struggling to prove herself, she was just like him. He was actually looking forward to this mission now. Magic sounded really awesome.

"So when does the mission start?"

"August 27th"

"What? But that's two months away!" Naruto whined, "What am I going to do before that? It's gonna be so boring."

"Oh, don't worry, you definitely won't be bored," The Hokage smiled pleasantly. Naruto paled. "After all, you have a new language to learn."

"WHAT?!"

"Shut up or I'll make you learn French as well."

"What's French?"

"It's the language the people in France speak."

"What's a france?"

"France is a country." Tsunade clenched her teeth. His questions were starting to get annoying.

"Why do I have to learn a new language?"

"Because the people there don't speak ours."

"So?"

"So you're learning English and French now."

"No, I'm sorry! Engarish is fine."

"Good," Tsunade pulled out a huge stack of books, "It's English by the way." Naruto stared at her, horrified.

"Don't tell me I have to read all of them."

"I'm afraid this is the only way. I'm sorry, Naruto." She didn't sound sorry at all. Naruto smiled weakly, "On a second thought, I don't think I can do this mission, Hokage-sama."

"You know, catching the Daimyo's wife's cat, sweet little Tora, is always an option…"

"Are all old women this evil?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'll definitely learn Engelish and complete the mission, Hokage-sama!"

"Great. Any other questions?"

"No, Hokage-sama."

"You're dismissed." Despite how terrified and threatened Naruto felt, he couldn't help but pull down his eyelid and stick his tongue out at Tsunade when he thought she had gone back to her paperwork. He was just about to leave the office, when…

"Wait, Naruto. Get back here." She grabbed another book from the drawer and handed it to him, "I forgot to give you this. It's called A History of Magic. You have to read it too."

"You're kidding me. That's like five billion pages"

"Did I mention there was a sequel?"

"No thanks, I'll be going. Bye." He tucked the books under one arm and ran out of the building like a bat out of hell.

The Hokage smiled, grabbing a bottle of sake from her secret stash.

_That was way too easy._

* * *

Blood. Blood was everywhere. He could taste the metallic stench that clouded his senses.

Blood. This was Hatake Kakashi's blood.

Hatake Kakashi, with his most prized jutsu thrust straight through his heart.

Hatake Kakashi, whose eyes were still wide with shock.

Hatake Kakashi, blood leaking from his mouth.

Hatake Kakashi smiling when his favorite student arrived.

Hatake Kakashi shaking his head, saying it was okay.

Hatake Kakashi telling him it wasn't his fault.

"Don't cry…Naruto."

And then Hatake Kakashi was gone, and the scene became a battlefield. A battlefield full of blood.

Blood. Blood again. So much blood. Too much blood. It was Konohamaru's blood.

Konohamaru with blank eyes and blood dripping from his barely recognizable face.

Now it was Sai's blood.

Sai, not smiling, impossibly pale, still clutching the drawing of him and his brother holding hands and smiling.

And then Sai's features melted away, morphing into her—

"No...Stop it...NO!" His eyes snapped open. A scream threatened to rip from his throat. Sunlight peeked through the curtains, illuminating the photograph of Team Seven that was propped up on his desk. Too much alcohol and chirping birds always gave him that dream. He shook his head. And blinked back the tears. He wouldn't cry.

* * *

"Urgh." His already throbbing headache worsened when he dispelled all one hundred and thirty clones, his brain working harder than ever to sort the sudden flow of information. Naruto wanted to strangle Tsunade for forcing this task on him. But he didn't want to die early so all he could do when he was frustrated was try to pull all his hair out.

He stared at the page before him blankly. His right eye was bloodshot and hurting. _What the fuck is a verb?_ Naruto slammed the book shut.

That was it. He was going to paint Tsunade black and yellow. Well, her monument, of course.

* * *

Naruto groaned. He really shouldn't have done that. He knew, _knew_, painting her face was a bad idea, even though he personally thought the sculpture now looked better than before. Wisely, he had decided to keep that to himself.

But now he was in the hospital, with a nurse lecturing him about how disrespectful it was to paint the Hokage Monument and two languages to learn.

Naruto wanted to cry.

* * *

"I expect that you're fluent in both English and French now." He winced at the memories of painful learning, "Yes, Ba-chan."

"Good. Now go show them what the Will of Fire is!"

"You bet, Ba-chan! I'll definitely protect Fleur Delacour and beat up those stupid bastards! That's a promise, Dattebayo!" Naruto couldn't help but grin and pump his fist. He frowned—he was supposed to be mad at Tsunade, dammit.

But to tell the truth, Naruto was bursting with energy. He was almost as excited as the time he went on his first C-rank mission. After reading A History of Magic (well, the first chapter or so), Naruto became more familiar with the wizarding world. Magic sounded so cool! He really wanted one of those stick thingies.

"_Naruto_…" He looked up to see Sakura entering the office. One look at her face and he knew things weren't good.

"I can't believe you never told me you were going on a one year mission! One year, S-ranked mission! If Tsunade-shishou didn't tell me about it, I won't see you for another year!"

"I was kind of busy…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You're going to need a better excuse than that."

"But it's not my fault Ba-chan made me learn English and French!"

"What?"

"I'll explain later," Tsunade interrupted. "Naruto has to go."

"Alright, Shishou" Sakura said a bit reluctantly. Then she turned to her teammate. "Naruto…" She looked up at him and hesitated. Then she did the most surprising thing ever, she hugged Naruto.

"Wha…you…I" Not knowing what to say, he tentatively put an arm around her shoulder. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Sakura never did anything like this! He had been expecting a knock on the head for not letting her know about the mission. Naruto smiled, and tightened his hold. This isn't bad, he thought. It felt good to know someone cared about him

When she broke the embrace, he felt as if he'd found a long lost sister.

"Don't die, you idiot." She said softly.

"I won't." He smiled one of his rare, shy smiles.

Tsunade cleared her throat. The two jounin jumped.

"Do you have all your things?"

"Yep." Naruto grinned, showing the bulging backpack that was on his shoulders.

"I trust there won't be any ramen in that."

"Haha," he scratched his head nervously, "Of course."

The Hokage suppressed the urge to send him flying into the wall. She would let him get away with it this time. After all, who knew what kind of food the foreign countries had?

"Oh right! Naruto, you're going to have to read this." Tsunade pulled out a roll of parchment from nowhere and handed it to him.

"Oh, it's the ugly paper," he exclaimed as he started reading out loud, forgetting that he was the only one who could understand English.

"_Dear Mr. Uzumaki Naruto,_

_Hello, I am Sebastian Delacour, a French ambassador. I have been informed that the ninja that I am hiring the disciple of Jiraiya, my old friend. I am sure that you are more than competent to handle this mission._

_Firstly, I must thank you for agreeing to protect Fleur, my eldest daughter. In case you were not aware, she is a part veela, meaning she has a natural allure that inevitably draws men to her. This is why she is very wary of the opposite gender and tries to push men away. I am afraid that she may be a little cold and harsh towards you when you first meet her. After all, she strongly opposed of my hiring a bodyguard, especially a male one. However, if you are the man I am told you are, the two of you should get along quite splendidly._

_Second, this is a magical device called a_—what is this? Por—Portekey? Weird—_portkey which will activate at noon_—AHH—" There was a yellow blur and then nothing. Sakura blinked. She knew Naruto had mastered the Hirashin but why would he use it now?

"…Tsunade-sama?"

The Legendary Sucker smirked, "Oh my, I must've forgotten to warn him that the paper was a device that would transport him to France. Oops." Sakura heaved an exasperated sigh and palmed her face in her hands. She didn't know what France was but she knew Tsunade "I can't even... ugh…_Shishou_…"

"He didn't think making him learn French was all I was going to do."

"Naruto was in the hospital for three days. And you know how fast he heals!"

"He painted my monument black and yellow."

"But—"

"He called me 'grandma' three times today."

Sakura sighed, "I should've known when you didn't say anything about it."

"That's my student! Now help me with the paperwork." Tsunade said brightly.

Sakura sighed. Again.

_Why can't I get a break as well?_

* * *

Female? Check.

Silvery blonde? Check.

Dark blue eyes? Check.

Light skin? Check.

Fleur Isabelle Delacour? Probably not.

She stared at him. He stared back. Then she started blubbering excitedly in French. Naruto smiled and told her to climb on his back, and he gave her a piggy back ride. Okay, definitely not Fleur Delacour, he thought as he walked strolled across the porch with a delighted eight year old on his back.

"Who are you?" he asked as he placed her back on ground. The girl giggled, "You sound funny."

"What are you talking about?! My French is awesome!" Naruto declared, not willing to believe that all his hard work was for nothing.

"No. It's weird! It's like donkey trying to say pig language. Oink!"

"Hey, you just called me an ass!"

"What?" The little veela furrowed her eyebrows, "You sound even funnier now!"

Naruto blinked. He hadn't realized he'd switched to English. He scowled, "I don't sound weird!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Do not!" Then Naruto realized he was arguing with a kid. This meant he didn't have to play fair! His infamous grin wormed its way on to his face. Suddenly, he tackled the girl and started tickling her mercilessly.

"AHHHHH...Stop it!" She squealed between fits of laughter as she squirmed on the ground and slapped him in the face repeatedly.

"_What_ do you think you are doing?"

Naruto froze. Not good. That was the tone Sakura used when she was about to punch him into the next century. It didn't help that there was something hard poking him in the back of his head. He turned around and came face to face with a stick. Naruto almost laughed in relief until he realized what it was. A wand. Those wooden things used to cast spells. He gulped as he looked up to find a pair of blue eyes.

A pair of lively blue eyes.

..._Ino!_

But then he realized the eyes were the wrong shade of blue and belonged to a different face. The face of an angry Fleur Isabelle Delacour.

* * *

**A/N: And that's the first chapter. Once again, thanks to bloodyreds for betaing. Comments/Questions/Concerns/Ramen? Leave me a review and I'll get back to as soon as possible. I'd like to know if I should keep this story going. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Red Roses

**A/N: Yo! I'm back with chapter two ready to go. **

**I know that the Quidditch World Cup was held on August 22****nd**** but for the sake of the story, I will be changing the date to the 29****th****. Sorry if this confuses anyone.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Harry Potter series. I am writing this for fun, not profit.**

"_What _do you think you are doing?"

Naruto froze. Not good. That was the tone Sakura used when she was about to punch him all the way to Water Country. It didn't help that there was something hard poking him in the back of his head. He turned around and came face to face with a stick. Naruto almost laughed in relief until he realized what it was. A wand. Those wooden things used to cast spells. He gulped as he looked up to find a pair of blue eyes.

A pair of lively blue eyes.

_Ino_!

But then he realized the eyes were the wrong shade of blue and belonged to a different face. The face of an angry Fleur Isabelle Delacour.

_Oh shit._

"Um…bonjour."

"_Stupefy_!" Naruto narrowly dodged a red streak of light that whizzed past his ear. He wanted to slap himself. So much for making a good impression. At least she looked surprised that he'd managed to avoid her spell.

"Hey! You almost killed me!" Fleur lowered her wand. Naruto was just about to let out the breath he'd been holding until he realized she had only faltered because she couldn't understand him. Then his breath hitched right back and he tried to speak and swallow at the same time. Bad idea. His eyes watered as he choked on the spit that had gone down the wrong way.

"Wait…can't talk now," he coughed, his face reddening even further when he realized he was still speaking Japanese. Naruto cleared his throat one last time before offering his hand to Fleur.

"Sorry. I start switching to different languages when I get surprised," He made sure he was speaking French. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto and I come from Konoha. I like ramen, especially the kind at Ichiraku Ramen, learning cool new jutsus, and my precious people. I dislike the three minute wait after you pour boiling water into the ramen cup. My hobbies are eating ramen and training. And my dream…my dream is to protect my village and my precious people, dattebayo!"

"Dattebayo?" Fleur Delacour was not impressed. "Give me one reason why I should not hex you into next week."

"You wouldn't be able to anyway."

She raised a delicate eyebrow, "Are youchallenging me, Monsieur Uzumaki?"

"No sorry." Naruto took a hasty step back, "I think I'm supposed to be protecting you."

"_You_ are the man my father hired as a bodyguard?" She frowned, "I thought he would at least find someone competent."

"Hey!" Naruto was about to protest, when he heard a familiar giggle. "Why didn't you help me when she tried to curse my head off?!" He hissed.

"It was funny." The eight year old had a mischievous glint in her eye.

"You were getting me back for earlier, weren't you?" She giggled again. Naruto was about to get his revenge until he remembered that he was supposed to be a bodyguard. A _mature_ bodyguard. He sighed and settled for a scowl instead.

"So, Fleur, how will I meet the client?"

"You will not."

"What?" Naruto turned around to find her surrounded by a pleasantly strange glow.

"You will _not_ protect me. You will go home, and never come back." Fleur Isabelle Delacour was now frighteningly beautiful. She was untouchable…something beyond this world. Her long hair flowing smoothly behind her, eyes darkened by an alluring fire. She met his gaze, staring straight into his soul—

"Are you okay?"

"What?" She looked stunned.

He was staring at her, but not in the way she expected him to. Naruto frowned and felt her forehead. Fleur flinched, slapping his hand away.

"I asked if you were okay. Are you?" He checked his own temperature and shook his head.

"Are you homosexual?"

"WHAT?!" He shrieked.

"Are you homosexual, as in gay?"

He gaped at her.

"So you are gay." Fleur analyzed Naruto from head to toe as if seeing him in a new light. "That is why my allure did not work…No wonder Papa chose you." She paused, noticing he was still staring, open mouthed. "Do not worry. It is fine. I will not judge you for your sexual preferences." That seemed to snap him out of his trance.

"Wait," He stretched the word out nice and long. Naruto didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. He felt like doing both. "Let me get this straight…So you think I'm gay?" Fleur nodded.

"I AM NOTGAY!" She met his frustrated glare with questioning eyes. Naruto wanted to rip his hair out. Why did he have to switch to Japanese at the most inconvenient times?

"I. Am. _Not. _Gay." He repeated, this time in the correct language.

"But you just said yo—"

"No I didn't! I don't swing that way or any way. I'm straight. Seriously, do I even look gay?"

"Well, you _are _dressed very peculiarly—"

Naruto sighed, "Don't answer that. It's not my fault no one warned me about the dress code over here." He glanced at his black jumpsuit wistfully. _I guess I'll have to find something else with orange soon._

"So you aren't gay?"

"No!"

"Then how did you resist my allure?"

"What allure?" He scrunched up his face in concentration, "Oh right! You mean that part when your hair started floating and you got all pretty and stuff? That was weird."

She looked at him expectantly.

Naruto fidgeted as he started to sweat under her intense gaze, "...Okay, it was _really_ weird." He caught the incredulous expression on her face. "What? I was just trying to be nice. Ba-chan said I'll scare off all the foreign clients if I'm not polite." _And mature, _he added silently.

After a few seconds of studying this strange blonde who was probably homosexual but didn't want to admit it, Fleur sighed. She still had trouble believing that a man besides her father was immune to her Veela heritage. And this Naruto wasn't like her father at all. So far he'd been obnoxious, ignorant, and a little slow in the head.

Fleur sighed again, "I guess I am going to have to find another way to get rid of you. You would not be smart enough to leave on your own, would you?"

"Now, where have your manners gone? Zat is no way to greet a guest." Fleur turned around to find her father standing on the doorstep, his lips twitching as he fought down an amused smile.

"PAPA!" An excited Gabrielle flew into the man's arms so quickly, Naruto was sure she had used the Hirashin.

"Well," Sebastian Delacour chuckled as he ruffled the girl's hair, "Zis is not ze way I 'ad intended for you two to meet." He glanced at Fleur, then Naruto. "Since you are not yet unconscious or already back in Konoha, I was correct to choose you, Monsieur Uzumaki."

_That's because she thinks I'm gay._

"Yeah…We're friends already," Naruto draped an arm around Fleur's shoulders, careful not to actually touch her. She smacked him anyway.

"I trust you will not hex Monsieur Uzumaki the second I leave the two of you alone, Fleur." Sebastian said in French, looking at his eldest daughter pointedly. Naruto resisted the urge to tell him she had already stupefied him a moment ago. At least she had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Of course she won't do that!" Naruto jumped in with his infamous grin, "Right?" He elbowed Fleur.

"Yes, Papa." She sent a cold glare at Naruto. One that clearly told him to fuck off. He either ignored her or didn't see anything because he still had that shit-eating smile on his face.

"Good. Monsieur Uzumaki—"

"Naruto. I hate being formal."

Sebastian smiled, "Alright, then Naruto. I wasn't aware that you knew French as well as English."

"Well, I…I made Ba-chan, I mean, Tsunade-sama, mad." He winced, "Really mad."

"What did you do?" Gabrielle asked curiously.

"Haha," Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "I kind of painted her monument black and yellow."

Fleur coughed hastily. Naruto stared at her.

"Did you just _snort_?"

"No! Of course not." Despite her words, she flushed a crimson red. Sebastian laughed, "I have not heard you do that for years!" Fleur now looked like a tomato. A very angry one that was glowering at Naruto.

"Is there something on my face?" The oblivious ninja rubbed his cheek subconsciously.

"Are you doing this on purpose or are you really this stupid?"

"I am not stupid!" He protested indignantly. Something told Fleur she was not the first one to comment on his intelligence. Or, rather, lack of one. "And I didn't even do anything!"

Fleur was about to say otherwise when her father interrupted her.

"Now why don't we go inside the house to discuss matters and meet my wife, Apolline?" It wasn't a question. But, of course, Naruto didn't notice.

"Sure!" He straightened the overstuffed bag on his shoulders and went after Sebastian, holding the door open for a reluctant Fleur. She didn't bother thanking him.

"Wow, this place is huge!" The excited blonde exclaimed, staring at everything he saw. Fleur wouldn't have been surprised if he started jumping up and down. Luckily (for him), he had enough sense to stay put and follow her father to the dining room. She frowned as she studied his strange reactions. She knew the manor was impressive, but no one had ogled at it like he did. She wrinkled her nose. He was currently fascinated with the restroom and was playing with the flushing sensor. Her frown deepened when she saw Gabrielle escape from her father's arms and leap excitedly into the bathroom, joining the blonde in having fun with the toilet. She almost felt bad for it.

Shaking off her urge to sigh as she heard the tenth flush, she found her father suppressing an amused smile. He had already told her about the hidden villages, ninjas, and an old friend named Jiraiya. At first, Fleur hadn't believed him, but when Uzumaki Naruto showed up wearing that ridiculous outfit and speaking a foreign language, she realized there was no denying it. Ninjas were real. However, she never would have guessed how different the Elemental Nations were from the rest of the world. But of course, that was not an excuse for the blonde's idiotic behavior.

"Fleur, I want you to give Uzumaki Naruto a chance." Sebastian Delacour said, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"I have already done so. And he has proved to be nothing but a fool."

"Has he? Hexing him without warning would not be a very fair chance, would it?"

Fleur scowled, "I do not need a bodyguard to watch after me as if I were some _child_."

"And so far, Naruto has treated you as nothing but an equal."

She ignored him, "Papa, I want to join this tournament to prove myself. How will I do so when others think that I cannot even take care of myself? This Uzumaki Naruto will do more harm than good."

"Do not be so quick to judge him. There is more than what meets the eye. You, of all people, should know that." Fleur stiffened.

"I know you do not want to be hurt again. But you must let go, or you will never make any progress. Do you really want _him _to be the reason you cannot find happiness? " The cold mask of indifference that she had perfected over the years was on her face before he'd finished his sentence. "It is time for you to move on. I know you have Anne, but try to make new friends. From what I have heard, Uzumaki Naruto is a good man, loyal to a fault. Do not let his appearance fool you. Despite his young age, he has been through war. You are not the only one who is burdened by the past. Just give it a try, chérie. Your mother has been very worried about you."

"Yes Papa."

Sebastian sighed. Even he couldn't decipher what his daughter was thinking once she put up that façade. He could only hope that she had taken his words to heart.

"That was so cool!" Naruto popped out of the bathroom with a giggling Gabrielle on his back. They were both dripping wet. Fleur didn't want to know where the water came from.

"I hope you are not attending dinner like that." A new voice came from the other end of the hallway.

"Maman!" Apolline Delacour was tackled by the eight year old, who was as energetic as ever.

"Gabrielle, what have you been doing? You will need to get a change of clothes," The half veela smoothed her daughter's hair fondly. "It will not do to catch a cold."

"Yes Maman!" With that, she ran off to her room, in search of her pajamas. Apolline turned to Naruto, "So you are the Monsieur Uzumaki that my husband has been talking about for the past two months?"

He nodded, looking a little embarrassed of the disheveled state that he was in, "Just Naruto, Madam Delacour."

"Then you will call me Apolline. Madam makes me feel old." Naruto nodded again. She looked like she was only in her early thirties. Why did all women hate to feel old? He decided he would stay on his best behavior around Apolline Delacour if she reacted the same way as Tsunade did when she felt insecure. 'Insecure' probably wasn't the right term though…

"_What _are those clothes? I have never seen anything like them!" Naruto looked up from his thoughts hopefully. Finally, someone who appreciated his sense of fashion! "Do not tell me you will be wearing that to dinner, or anywhere else. Black and orange clashes horribly!" And without Naruto's consent, she flicked her wand a couple of times and his trusty old jumpsuit was dried and transformed into black dress robes with dark blue lining, which in his opinion, looked like shit.

Naturally, Apolline seemed satisfied with her work and allowed herself a pleased smile. Naruto just sighed and followed her to the dining room, grumbling the entire way.

If only she'd made the robes orange.

French cuisine tasted good, Naruto decided as he munched on his stake thoughtfully. Not as good as ramen though.

He shoved another piece in his mouth.

_Screw eating etiquette. _He was hungry.

Suddenly, Apolline announced, "Naruto, we will have to go shopping for new clothes tomorrow if all of yours are like that jumpsuit."

"WHAT?!"

Gabrielle giggled.

Sebastian looked relieved that he had work the next day.

Fleur's lips twitched.

Naruto groaned. He should have known.

Shopping sucked, one very unhappy Uzumaki Naruto sulked. Today, he had gone to Madam Agnès' Finest Robes for the Finest French and tried on weird flappy clothing that was useless in combat. Fortunately, Madam Agnès agreed to alter his robes so that they were form fitting and did not restrict his movements.

As if one store wasn't enough, Apolline had dragged him to the "muggle" shopping district, claiming that he needed some comfortable, casual clothes. He had told her that his jumpsuits were perfectly fine. Unsurprisingly, she ignored him. Of course, neither Gabrielle, who had been too busy giggling, nor Fleur, who he suspected enjoyed watching him suffer, protested. And so, he had spent an entire five hours complaining about how much he hated shopping and six hours trying on various clothing. Gabrielle had managed to convince him that the current fashion in France was something called a tutu. She'd ended up making him try on the hideous pink skirt when Apolline had disappeared to a register to pay for his new wardrobe. The nearby customers thought his outfit was hilarious and had decided to crowd around him to take pictures. It had taken him a full ten minutes to realize he had been tricked. Well, at least he'd almost made Fleur crack a smile. That was progress, right?

Naruto sighed and looked at the outrageous number of bags in his hands. Now he was stuck in front of the wizarding store called _Oostende's Jewelries _because Apolline and her daughters had to visit the bank and the tiny wouldn't cart couldn't fit all the shopping bags. He glanced at them again, guiltily. He had tried to persuade Apolline to let him pay for his own clothes and had almost succeeded when he realized that France didn't except ryō notes. Instead, the magical community used gallons, knuts, and sickles, and the muggles used a currency called euro. Naruto thought that this was ridiculous. But there was nothing he could do except grudgingly accept Apolline's offer and change all the contents in Gama-chan to wizarding money as soon as possible. In fact, he had already done that. Just in case of an emergency. He didn't want to trouble the Sebastian and his wife any further. They had already done enough by shopping for him the entire day. And for that, he was grateful.

Glancing around, Naruto caught no sign of the Delacours and sighed again. Although he was unwilling to admit he was hyperactive, he was aware that he was bored very easily. Because he was supposed to be a mature bodyguard, he couldn't go around playing pranks on random people anymore. He gazed at the crowd one more time and shrugged. Since they weren't back yet, he might as well explore a little. Looking at his surroundings, he suddenly remembered something when his eyes lay upon the jewelry store behind him. _Oostende's Jewelries…_he mused. Fleur! Her file had stated that her birthday was on the 31st, three days from now. Grinning, Naruto entered the shop and was greeted by an elderly man who looked like he belonged in a museum.

"Hello, young man. Would you like any help?"

"No thanks, old man, I'm just looking." _Damn, old habits die hard. _Naruto was glad that the man was still smiling.

He glanced around the room. There were necklaces, bracelets, rings, and a red gem that gleamed brightly under the lights. Naruto frowned. He hated red.

"Hey, mister" he turned to the store owner, "Do you have something unusual? Something cool?"

"Unusual…" Oostende echoed. "I may have just the right thing." He hurriedly made his way to the back of the shop and returned with an old metal box. Handing the rusty container to his blonde customer, he wet his lips excitedly before he spoke, "Go on. Open it." Naruto did as he was told, and found himself staring at a beautifully crafted dagger. Despite its age, the blade gleamed wickedly under the candlelight. The only decoration was a blue gem in the end of the hilt. It contained so many shades of blue—the lightest as bright as Ino's eyes, and the darkest as entrancing as Fleur's. If he tilted the handle at the correct angle, the gem became the hue of his own eyes. The weapon was a bit rusty, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of sharpening and some oil. With a little fiddling, he could even attach a Hirashin seal.

A dagger for a birthday present.

Naruto grinned.

_Perfect._

"Hey, old man…How much is this?"

With his present in hand, Naruto exited the jewelry store after thanking Oostende one last time. There was still no trace of the Delacours. He frowned. If his inner clock was correct, it had been forty-one minutes since they had left for Gringotts. Something wasn't right.

And then he remembered that they were veelas.

_Fuck. How could I have been so stupid?_

Breaking into a sprint, Naruto was a yellow blur as he sped through the crowds, looking for any sign of silvery hair and dark blue eyes. His search was short-lived when he spotted a group of men, most likely drunk, cornering Gabrielle, who was trapped against the wall of a dark alley. He stuffed the dagger in the pouch with his kunai, knowing that he wouldn't need either of them.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The eight year-old was still screaming when he had finished dealing with them. It took her five minutes to realize that the men were lying on the floor, unconscious. And another three minutes to realize Naruto was the one in front of her. It took her two seconds to latch on to his leg and start sobbing.

"…Gabrielle. Don't cry," Naruto gently wiped away the wet streaks on her cheeks and knelt down to pick her up. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe now. No one's going to hurt you." He smoothed her hair and whispered all things he'd wanted to hear when he had been beaten as a child. Naruto comforted her until the tears stopped and gave way to shuddering breaths.

"Do you feel a little better now?" He asked softly. Gabrielle nodded and blew her nose on his shirt.

"Where are your mother and sister?"

"I don't k-know." She hiccupped, "I got lost in the crowd. I let go of Maman's hand." Her eyes started watering again.

"It's alright. Don't worry. They're probably looking for you right now. Do you want to go find them?" Gabrielle nodded again and wiped some more snot on Naruto.

"Let's go!" He gave her a big grin. "Stop crying and I'll show you something cool." She stopped crying.

"Here," he lowered Gabrielle to the ground and offered his back to her. "Get on." Once she was safe and secure, he rushed off with a burst of inhuman speed. A delighted squeal was heard a second later.

"Faster!" Gabrielle tugged on his hair, forgetting how upset she had been moments ago. "Go, go, go!"

"Hold on tight!" Naruto doubled his efforts, easily slipping through the crowd with a happy eight year old on his back.

Much to her dismay, it only took five minutes to locate her mother and sister.

"Gabrielle!" Apolline hurriedly made her way to them and enveloped her daughter in a tight embrace.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Fleur said sharply, although her relief was evident as she wrapped her arms around Gabrielle.

"I'm s-sorry," Gabrielle sniffled as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I was so s-scared." She choked on a sob. "N-Naruto beat up all the bad men."

Fleur looked up at the blonde, wanting to thank him for saving her sister, but her mouth clamped shut.

She was the only one who saw that sad, wistful smile.

"Don't cry…" _Your eye…_

"Don't die…" _I know._

"Don't cry…" _I won't._

"Move on." _I can't._

And then he heard the birds again—the chirping of one thousand birds.

"No…I can't...STOP!" Another scream was building at the back of his throat. A scream that he almost choked on when his jerked awake to see a pair of dark blue eyes.

Naruto grabbed the kunai under his pillow and was about to slash it across her neck until he realized this was Fleur. Fleur Isabelle Delacour. His client. The one he was supposed to protect.

He blinked.

"Fuck. I'm so sorry." Naruto quickly dropped the weapon on the bed and checked if he'd managed to hurt her somewhere. He let out a breath of relief when he realized she was just startled. "Are you okay?" he asked. And he immediately regretted it. Of course she wasn't okay. He had almost killed her! He was lucky he hadn't accidentally slit her throat.

"I lost control," Naruto dropped his head, "and I know apologizing won't help." How could he have lowered his guard so easily? If someone had attempted to attack Fleur, both of them would be dead right now. "I tried to harm you, despite the fact that I am supposed to protect you. I understand if you feel that I am incompetent for this mission. I will report to Hokage-sama of my failure and a ninja who is more suitable for this task will be arranged."

"No. You will not be leaving." There was an expression on Fleur's face that reminded Naruto of something dangerous. Curiosity.

"What?"

"I said you will not leave. I…" She paused, "I believe you are perfectly competent as a bodyguard. _My_ bodyguard."

"But I just—"

"Tried to kill me." She finished for him. "Yes, I know. But that was my own fault for not heeding my father's warning that you were a man who had been through war." A flash of surprise came across his face, but it was quickly replaced by regret and self-loathing and an emotion that Fleur couldn't decipher.

"A true man would have never lost control. A true man would have protected you. A true man wouldn't have made my mistakes." _And a true man wouldn't have been too late._

"Too late?"

"Nothing." Naruto grimaced. He really needed to keep his mouth shut.

"Tell me." She commanded. An invisible pull forced him to look into her eyes. They were beautiful… just like Ino's. Why were their eyes so alike? Blue eyes weren't that uncommon. …It was the spirit, he realized. The same spark of defiance and courage. Unbreakable. That was the spirit he had fallen in love with. _Tell her why you were too late, _a voice in the back of his head said. No, he shook his head, Fleur wasn't Ino. This was just her allure.

_Damn it. Focus on something else, anything else. _

"Did you know that there's a pimple right in the middle of your nose?"

"What?!"

"It's right there! A pimple—"

"Yes I heard you. Stop lying," she snapped, sounding annoyed. Veelas didn't grow _pimples_. How did he come up with these ridiculous questions anyway? Hadn't he been depressed just a second ago? Fleur frowned. She had never met someone as confusing as this insufferable blonde before. That made him…special. And not in a good way.

"What I want to know is how you are resisting me."

"Oh don't worry, Fleur-_chan_, you're _irresistible_." Naruto grinned. "…Hey, are you blushing?"

She scowled. Fleur knew he was joking, so what was wrong with her? She was made of ice…_everyone_ knew that. And what was a chan anyway? Storing her questions away for later, she glared at him irritably, "Just answer the question. How do you resist my allure?"

"I just ignore the urge. It's easy."

"_Easy_?"

"Yep." Naruto grabbed his bag, checking that his instant noodles were still in there.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing."

"I thought I said you will not be going."

"I thought you said that too."

"So why are you packing?"

"Because I'm going back to Konoha."

"No, you are not." She declared. Naruto tore himself from her determined gaze, and continued cramming things into his backpack.

"I have to."

"No you don't."

"I thought you didn't want a bodyguard."

"I don't. I want a friend." Naruto dropped his ramen. Fleur's mouth clamped shut. She hadn't meant to say that. In fact, she hadn't realized what she'd said until it came out of her mouth. But now that she thought of it, it was true. Kind of. No, she just found him interesting. That was all.

"A friend?" A moment of hesitation crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by a harsh determination.

"Yes. A friend." She was surprised by how sure she sounded.

"Look," he ran a hand through his hair, and Fleur found herself wondering it how it felt, "even if you actually want me to stay, I can't. Your parents would never agree."

"Not if they do not know." There was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"You're not going to do what I think you're going to, right?"

She ignored him, "You are not going to tell anyone about your…accidental slip of the hand."

"Make me," Naruto challenged, jutting his chin out inadvertently. He wasn't going risk her life because of a stupid mistake.

"I will." She crossed her arms haughtily. "Since my father, the client, has hired you to protect me, you will also have to protect my privacy—which in this case, is what happened this morning."

"So you're saying that it's part of my mission to not tell anyone that you almost died?"

She nodded.

Naruto stared at her. He could think of so many ways that he could defy her. Hell, he could just walk out and tell the Delacours that he'd just tried to slit their daughter's throat right now. Yet, he didn't. He wouldn't. Naruto knew this was a mistake. But for some brain dead reason, he went with it anyway.

_I won't fail you. That's a promise of a life time._

"I won't tell and I'll stay…but only on one condition."

"What?"

"You have to do one thing I say." Hiding his analyzing eyes with a foxy grin, Naruto studied Fleur's reaction carefully. A sudden wariness had wormed its way into her eyes, and she met his gaze with a calculating expression that went together perfectly with her cold, guarded mask. A startling realization hit him; Tsunade was right, she really was beautiful, even with her façade. A façade that he intended to break down bit by bit until he found the true Fleur Isabelle Delacour.

"Fine." She looked upset with herself.

Naruto smiled. A shy smile. A genuine smile. A smile that promised friendship and loyalty. A smile that would never betray the trust she had just placed in him. Fleur's lips twitched, and before she could stop herself, there was a tentative smile on her face as well. For the first time, Uzumaki Naruto caught a glimpse of what lay beyond the surface. A feeling that had not stirred for one year, ten months, and twenty-three days ignited in his chest. And it was then that Naruto knew this would not end well.

_No_.

He tore his eyes away from her smile and stomped out the growing spark of something that was supposed be long dead. For the second, and not the last, time Naruto wished he had made the right decision.

"What do you want me to do?" She eyed him suspiciously.

He sighed—she still doubted him.

"I can't say. But you'll know when the time comes." Naruto gave her one of his most infuriating grins. Fleur opened her mouth to protest, only to change her mind halfway.

"Since you are my bodyguard for the year, we must get to know each other, oui?" Her smile became predatory. "So tell me about that dream you were having. Who is Kakashi?"

Naruto winced. _I really need to keep my mouth shut. _

"Well?" She prompted.

"Don't we need to go to some Quiddy World Cup?" He said loudly. "Let's hurry up and get going. We wouldn't want your parents to find out that I almost killed you, now would we?" She huffed in annoyance. Naruto's grin was cut short when he spotted the expression on her face. Curiosity. Curiosity and determination. Not a good combination.

The intensity of her gaze sent shivers down his spine.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Fleur whispered, tasting the name as it rolled off her tongue, "you are an…enigma that I intend to solve."

And then she was gone, leaving him rooted to the ground, alone in a room that still held the lingering traces of her flowery scent. He inhaled.

Roses.

_Red _roses.

Beautiful.

No.

He hated red.

Naruto slammed his head against the wall, effectively clearing his thoughts.

This _really_ wasn't going to end well.

**A/N: So that's chapter number two. It came out a little later than I hoped and I'm still not that satisfied. But I hope you liked it. **

**I'm looking for a new beta so if anyone's interested, please do not hesitate to contact me. **

**Questions/comments/concerns/ramen? Leave me a review. I love reviews. And I'll get back to you as soon as possible.**

**Thanks for reading bro.**


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